Chloe Petts is among the new generation of comedians who are rejecting the combative nature of the discussion which surrounds many contemporary issues in today’s culture-war-torn discourse.
She has been described as polite in her deft handling of some of the most controversial topics, particularly in her debut solo stand-up tour show, Transience.
Now, however, the gloves are off and her follow-up show, If You Can’t Say Anything Nice, is set to flip the script.
Chloe says the show is “an interrogation and a celebration of anger, and how it functions in British society.
“It’s a response to my first show, which was about gender, sexuality, and I broke down big ideas around those themes into more manageable chunks for people that might not necessarily know about them.
“I basically tried to single-handedly solve transphobia.”
In the year following that show, she said transphobia has become “far worse; I need to try being angry now.”
“And that’s what gave birth to this idea for the new show, to show a new side to myself in lashing out at the issue, and maybe showing my true self.”
In the show, she says there is a particular section which she feels is some of the best she’s ever created.
“It’s about going to straight weddings, which I love doing, and it was the first thing that came to me when I began writing it.
“It left me with a really funny image, so I spent a while building the world of that routine with words, and it really feels like a calling-card routine.
“It sums up a lot of my perspective and how I come into a space and react with the world, and it really seems to have resonated with a lot of people, which is wonderful.”
As such, she explains that she feels her main job is to make the room laugh and create that “special experience”.
“The political message is subsidiary- I feel very lucky that the stories I have to tell resonate, and stand-ups are lucky like that.
“There’s not a lot of monitoring or editing, it’s just us, and people want to hear our viewpoints, which is lovely.”
Chloe is one of the founding five behind The LOL Word, a collective which champions women and queer people in comedy with rotating guests joining its line-up.
“It’s always fun getting together a group of queer women and non-binary performers, and the audience always reflects the line-up.
“What you get then is a room full of queer people, and it’s so important to welcome, celebrate, and embrace them.”
But she is hesitant to describe it as a ‘safe space,’ due to the connotations of the phrase.
“That indicates that there’s a kind of cushioning against any difficult discourse– we 100% encourage comedy about all sorts of challenging stuff, and we’d never edit someone.
“But we come from a position of punching up; I’m not bothered about offensive comedy, but I’ve heard it all before.
“I don’t like getting bogged down in it, either, we all have the power to choose what we want to watch, and now there are acts that appeal to very specific demographics.”
She adds that comedy is more egalitarian because of the provision for specific demographics, especially in conjunction with more mainstream acts with a broader appeal.
Chloe is also currently supporting Frank Skinner on his current run of stand-up shows, having made multiple appearances on his Absolute Radio show alongside Emily Dean.
Of Mr Skinner, she said: “He’s such a generous man, and I feel lucky to be able to draw on his wealth of experience, and his support for other comedians.
“I’m learning from the best, so supporting him on tour and on his show is an honour and a privilege, especially as I’m not going to have to out him as an awful person.
“He’s what I want to be as a comedian, and I’m in the perfect place to learn from him.”
And she continues to learn about the art form: “I absolutely love being on stage, despite all of the awful things people say about stand-up being correct.
“It’s vulnerable, you die horrible, embarrassing deaths, you have panic attacks while eating a burrito at Euston Station– all of the above.
“But there’s something in me which keeps me coming back to it, wanting to conquer it, and then you grow more and more relaxed.
“That’s when you become your best, when you’re calm on stage, just delivering your material and responding to the room; the alchemy comes together and you walk off feeling high.”
Chloe Petts’ If You Can’t Say Anything Nice comes to Reading’s South Street Arts Centre on Thursday, November 9, from 8pm.
Tickets and more details available via whatsonreading.com
Full details of Chloe’s tour are available via: chloepetts.org
